My family has been doing business at this Mobil for about 25 years and never really had any issues…read moreexcept for the dirty/worn out interior that compels me to recommend that one never eat anything off the grill (fresh food) or drink the coffee.
That is until recently;
My daughter offered to get my son who was ill, a Gatorade drink at approximately 9:30 pm from the Mobil on the run, formally the Puffin Stop at the intersection of New Hampshire Route 16 and 101.
When she arrived, she parked at one of the center pumps and observed that she was the only customer there at time and she also noticed that male attendant was outside smoking. She proceeded into the store and rather than coming in while she shopped, he watched her from outside while continuing to smoke, making her VERY uncomfortable.
When it was time to check out he came in and proceeded to hit on her with pointed questions about whether or not she had a boyfriend and could he have her number etc...
Although feeling very vulnerable and wanting nothing more than to diffuse the situation and get away, she remained calm and polite, conducted her business and prepared to leave at which time the attendant came back around the counter and followed her out (she was still the only other person there at 9:30 at night). She made her way to the car feeling more and more panicked, made it in and started the car all while the attendant stood outside the store and watched about 30 feet from where she was in her car.
Her only thought at that time was to get home so she pulled forward and cut to the right and ended up hitting the metal barrier that's placed in front of the gas pump to protect it. She stopped the car and got out to look (all of this while the attendant was outside watching) and as she went around to look, he made a move as if to approach her and also made some comments about how that was too bad that that had happened prompting her to get immediately back into the car and get home where she relayed the story to myself and her dad.
Although I was upset and concerned, it wasn't until the morning when I saw the damage to the car and the fact that she was truly shook up, did I realize the damage done to the car, but more importantly to my 19 year old daughters emotional well-being.
We brought the car down to the body shop to have the damage assessed and found out that there was nearly $4000.00 worth of repairs needed. Thankfully we have excellent insurance, but how to repair the damage done to my daughter?
I contacted the manager of the Mobil store and explained the situation, to which his response seemed very concerned and sincere, letting me know that he would be passing this incident up the chain and finding the store's security tapes to see for himself.
I also called Global Oil, the owner of the store and spoke openly about the situation and how it has affected my daughter's panic disorder and overall sense of safety and security to which the representative seemed very concerned and sincere.
After speaking with the Global Oil rep, I then called Mobil/Exxon and relayed the entire story prompting yet another concerned and seemingly sincere reaction.
After weeks of chasing down all of these concerned and sincere people to see if there would be any repercussions to the attendant it came to light that the attendant had been interviewed by the management, denied everything and is currently still employed at the Mobil.
As reasoning, I was told that the store's security cameras didn't provide audio and that the tapes show my daughter engaging in a pleasant manner at the counter and that instead of rushing to her car, she walked. As to the man following her out, he was just going back out to smoke again, totally normal and not against the rules.
While speaking with the Global Oil rep, it was made clear to me that they considered my daughter to be the liar in this scenario and that she was overreacting to everything that happened.
Essentially, she should just shut up and put up with what happened like a good girl.
I'm really not sure what else I can do to make this better for her, her car is fixed and she went back to work, but she won't go out anywhere else. She goes to work and comes home and that's it.
How can I make this better for her?
Shame on everyone involved who took the easy way out by blaming a full grown man's bad behavior on my daughter. It's these situations that propagate violence against women with little to no repercussion.
So. Would I recommend that you should ever shop there?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!